The 2023 NBA Draft was a rough experience for the Los Angeles Lakers. They drafted Jalen Hood-Schifino with the 17th overall pick. That selection amounted to nothing more than a cap dump in 2025 when the Lakers landed Luka Doncic. What was worse is who came after JHS.
At 18th overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, the Miami Heat added a genuine contributor in Jaime Jaquez Jr. The Golden State Warriors followed that up with Brandin Podziemski at 19, a player who has started 104 games over three years for them. Then came Cam Whitmore at 20.
Whitmore was waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this offseason after he was acquired as a part of the Peyton Watson sign-and-trade. If the Lakers wanted to effectively undo the Hood-Schifino selection, they could have done it by brigning in Whitmore this summer. They passed.
Instead, it was the Denver Nuggets who landed his services. Shams Charania reported Whitmore is joining the Nuggets on a two-way deal. If the Lakers thought the former first-round pick from 2023 was worth bringing in, this is a move they could have easily pushed for themselves. For at least a second time, they looked at him and told themselves they were just fine withouth his help.
Lakers passed on adding Cam Whitmore for a second time in 2026
If you rewind to 2023, there was some genuine surprise about Whitmore falling to the 20th overall pick in that year's NBA Draft. Many draft scouts believed he was worth a lottery pick, at least.
Fast-forward to 2026 and Whitmore has not done a ton to truly validate his believers. After two years with the Houston Rockets, he was shipped off to the Washington Wizards in what eventually became a multi-team trade. His 2025-26 season in D.C. was forgettable.
Appearing in 21 games with the Wizards, Whitmore averaged 9.2 points per game on shooting splits of 46-29-74. For the Nuggets, that was enough for a fair gamble amid an otherwise disappointing offseason. If the 22-year-old cannot find success beside Nikola Jokic of all people, that could be the kiss of death on his young career.
In the Lakers' shoes, it is not like that selection of Hood-Schifino ever amounted to much. It has actually been the topic of constant regret and ridicule. Not trying harder to land Whitmore suggests they at least do not have disappointment over passing on him, specifically.
The Lakers could have made room for him by releasing someone like undrafted free agent signing AK Okereke from his two-way deal. Los Angeles stood pat.
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